Perry also named in suit

Bono said Perry was named because he is charged with enforcing the section of the state transportation code that makes it illegal to stand in the roadway to solicit a ride, contribution, job or business from the occupant of a vehicle unless the purpose is to solicit money for a charity.

"That could include people who hail a taxi or a bus," Bono said. "The law is not allowed to cast its net so wide."

Jez launched a campaign against day workers in September 2009, the lawsuit alleges. Charging day laborers with criminal trespass, police drove them away from a small convenience store where they solicited work with the permission of the owner, according to the lawsuit.

Police posing as contractors arrested day laborers who subsequently stood on the roadside looking for work, the lawsuit said. Workers were fined as much as $1,000, Bono said.